TGIF

This week has not been the greatest. I know that it could have been much worse and I'm thankful for what I do have. However, I am glad that it is finally Friday.

Things are not going as planned with the whole certification process. I missed a passing score on one of my tests by two points. I told my husband I would have rather failed miserably rather than miss it by two points. I was so disappointed with myself. My husband has been very supportive about the entire ordeal. He's so sweet. So since I can't retake the test and receive my scores before the deadline to apply, I am going to have to wait until next year to apply to the program. There are other options I could take, but this program is the best fit for me I think. Therefore, I'm applying for some classified positions with the school districts. Hopefully something will come through.

My computer died last night. I'm a Mac user and have had this computer for 6 years so I can't really complain too much about it. It's been a great computer and I'm going to miss it. My husband said we could look at replacing it but there is really no need. We have a family PC now as well. But I'm going to miss sitting on the couch, surfing the internet.

On the bright side, I'm going to a Naturals baseball game tonight with some friends I haven't seen in a while. I'm totally excited about it. It's a Faith and Family night at the ballpark and a local christian radio station is sponsoring the event. Francesca Battistelli will be performing before the game. It should be a ton of fun.

Is it really Tuesday? I can't keep up anymore!

I'm so lost on what day it is today. I thought yesterday was Saturday all day long. Today feels like Monday.

I had a busy weekend. My mother has a doctor's appointment on Friday with a neurosurgeon and since they were going to be closer to my dad's family's house than theirs, they decide to go visit for the weekend. My husband and I decided to go along as well. It had been almost a year since we had seen most of them and there was a new baby we were excited about visiting as well. It was really great getting to see everyone. The kids had grown so much. However, seeing as it is a good 5 hours away it made for a long drive home on Sunday. I slept most of the way though so the trip passed fairly quickly for me. My husband napped when we got home and we were both pretty useless for the rest of the evening. We spent most of Memorial day cleaning the garage and attic and organizing our junk. We are both pack rats. It's pretty bad. I really have no idea what we are going to do when we have children. If you have any great space saving or organization tips I would love to hear them.

While I love visiting family, I'm always glad to be home. Even though it was a rather short trip, it took a lot out of me. It always feels so good to sleep in your own bed.

The next couple of weeks are stressful ones. First, I should find out my Praxis II scores this week. This is one of the tests required to become a certified teacher. I'm hoping to get certified to teach secondary life sciences. I have to take two different content tests, biology and earth science. I'm praying that I passed. See, I'm applying to a non-traditional program and if I don't pass both tests I will miss the deadline to apply to this year's program. If I miss the deadline, I will have to wait another full year to apply. I'm really hoping I passed those tests.

Secondly, my mother is having to undergo spinal surgery next week to correct a bulged disc in her neck. The surgeon says that its a fairly simple surgery and he has done thousands like this in the past. While that's good to know, I'm still concerned and worried. There's something about cutting near the spinal cord that causes a bit of apprehension. She's stressed out about it and I'm trying to calm some of her fears. If you could keep her in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

Well, here's to Tuesday. Tomorrow's hump day and that means only a few days until the weekend.

Yay Daniel!!!!

Yesterday, I got pulled over for not having brake lights. I was on my way to meet my mother and aunt for lunch when I saw the officer pull behind me. I hoped that he just pulled in behind me at the stop light but when he changed lanes behind me, I knew I was getting ready to be stopped. I was certain that I was not going over the speed limit. Anyway, he told me I didn't have brake lights and gave me a warning. He said I could go ahead and continue to where I was headed but I didn't want to take a chance of getting stopped again.

I thought for sure that it was a fuse or bulb, so when I got home I checked the fuses. No luck. They were all fine. My father came over and checked bulbs and they were fine also. That's when I really started to worry. I didn't want to have to take it in to a shop. When my husband got home he started tinkering around with the easy things first. Again, nothing worked. So he went online and searched for what it could be. It's amazing the useful things you can find on the Internet. I know that's probably a stupid thing to say. But it really does amaze me sometimes.

He worked until 11pm last night trying to figure out what would make the lights work again. He replace a brake switch and that made the brake lights come back on, but the blinkers wouldn't work. Finally, he decided to turn in for the night and pick it back up today. He replaced some other part in the steering wheel this evening and low and behold, it worked!!! Now he's working to put all the parts back together.

I am truly amazed and so proud of him.

Graffiti :(

So tonight my husband and I did much need yard work. After almost a full two weeks of nothing but rain, our back yard looked like a jungle. My husband looked out the window on Sunday, turned to me and said, "If our backyard had a theme song, it would be 'Welcome to the Jungle'." I hate to admit it but he was absolutely right.

While mowing the front yard, Daniel, my husband, came in and asked me to come out and look at something. I walked out to the curb next to our drive-way and looked down. There on the side of the curb was three letters spray painted in blue spray paint. Graffiti. Why some people think it's cool to vandalize other people's property, I will never understand. Now I don't necessarily think there is too much to be worried about, but seeing as I am a worrier I suggested we report it to the police department. Daniel called and they sent an officer out to take a report. I'm sure nothing will come of it but I would rather be safe.

Other than this small downer, today was great. It was a beautiful day and I feel like we got a lot accomplished. We mowed the lawn. When I say we I really mean Daniel. While he mowed, I worked in the flower bed in front of our house. I'm hoping the plants survive. My record with plants isn't the greatest. I think more have died under my watch than lived. I took down my seasonal decorations and replaced them with my summer decorations. I know it's a little early but I usually change on Memorial Day. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I finish. I really love changing out the decorations. I've never liked for things to stay the same all the time. Growing up I would rearrange my bedroom at least 3 times a year. I get bored with things if they stay the same all year round.

Grandparents and quilts

I thought I would share a little about myself in today's post. Like I have stated in my profile I enjoy quilting and scrap booking. I am a beginner at both and I have to say that I enjoy quilting more. I started learning how to quilt about a year ago. My husband's grandmother taught me. She is 89 years old and has quilted pretty much her entire life. Growing up I never did projects with my grandparents and before I really realized how valuable their skills and wisdom were they were gone. When I decided I wanted to learn how to quilt I knew exactly who to turn to. She helped me piece, quilt and bind the quilt shown below. It took us approximately 4 months to make. We hand stitched everything.


I absolutely love this quilt. I've made a couple of baby quilts since we completed the one shown here. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of these but I was very please with how they turned out. I am currently working on a small lap quilt with a flower applique. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'll be sure and post pictures when I complete it.

It's amazing what grandparents can teach us if we just simply ask. Like I said earlier, my father's mother died before I could fully appreciate the wisdom she had to pass on. Both of my grandfathers passed away when I was young. My mother's mother is still living but refuses to talk to my family. I miss her and have often thought that I should be the bigger person and forgive her for her indiscretions. It's hard though to just look the other way. I don't understand her reasons for shutting my family out. It's been an ongoing thing since I started college. I've talked to her probably a total of 5 times since 2002. I contacted her to invite her to my wedding two years ago and she told me that she would not come. After this I decided that I would leave the decision up to her on whether she wanted to be apart of my life. I realize now that if I want her to be apart of my life I'm going to have to be person who makes contact. I can't fathom having children someday and her not knowing them. I think it's crazy to not to want to be involved with you grandchildren's lives. I know some day she will regret the decisions she has made. I simply hope and pray that things work out.

Recovering after camping with the boys

Last night was Scout Night with the NWA Naturals. This is my husband and me watching the game. For the past two weeks it has done nothing but rain in NWA Arkansas. Finally a couple of days ago the rain let up. However, a cold front had come through and the weather was unseasonabley cool. Luckily, the ballpark was having a promotion night and they gave everyone a free fleece blanket. I don't know what I would have that blanket.

Daniel and I were the only ones who actually watched the ballgame. The boys spent most of the time running around and playing on those inflatable bouncy things. They all had a really great time and it was a fun change from the normal camp outs.

My husband loves working with the scouts. He has such a great time with the boys. I'm pretty sure its because he is still a boy at heart. I have no idea what he was laughing at in this picture but I felt that it really caught the moment. I'm sure one of the boys was doing something completely ridiculous.
Here I am freezing my toes off. I was just about to turn in for the night. After the game, everyone got to camp out in the outfield. They showed a movie on the big screen and everyone watched from their tents. Of course it was way past my bedtime and I had been surrounded by 10 boys who were hyped up on sugar and caffeine so I was exhausted.
This is a picutre some of the tents set up on the field. There were Boy Scout, Cub Scout, and Girl Scout troops from the area camping out.
And finally, my husband getting ready to take our stuff out to the van. I was tempted to see just how much he could tote.

Getting ready to camp with the boy scouts!

My husband is scoutmaster for his old Boy Scout troop. This is him with one of wreaths from a fundraiser they did on his head. He took over about 3 months ago. When he came to me to tell me that he committee had asked him to take over as scoutmaster I knew there would be no way I would tell him no. He loves working with the scouts. It's right up his alley. It's probably because he's not that much older than the boys so he feels right at home acting silly with them. It's pretty entertaining to watch him with the boys.

Tonight we are taking the boys to Scout Night with the Naturals. The Naturals are our local minor league club team. This is their second year here in Northwest Arkansas. Twice a year they hold a scout night and invite all the local scouts (girls and boys) to come camp out in the infield after the game. Other than the weather being less than desirable, I'm really looking forward to it. We will watch the game then head out to the field and set up camp. They provide dinner and a movie. Check back for pictures.

Working with the scouts is definitely something I never thought I'd be doing. When Daniel got involved again with his old troop, I didn't have any desire to get involved. I had always thought it was just something for the guys. He asked me to go on a camp out with them one weekend and I agreed. It was really a lot of fun. They camp like I've never camped before. It was amazing. Then he took over as scoutmaster. I realized then and there that if I ever wanted to spend weekends with him I was going to have to get involved with the troop. It's been a great experience for both of us. The boys in Troop 107 are great. The troop is still in a transition period and it's growing rapidly so the meetings are a little disorganized. They have improved significantly though. I have high hopes for them. It's really been a learning experience for everyone. If you are looking for an organization to become involved in I highly recommend a scout troop whether its boy scouts, cub scouts, or girl scouts.

Hello to the blogging world

So I've decided to start a blog. I'm not sure how it will turn out but I thought I would give it a go anyway.
Today was a pretty good day. I spent the day substituting for the broadcasting teacher at Rogers High School. It was the seniors last day, so you can imagine how much work they got done. It was actually fun. We spent most of the class playing games.
I started substituting in January when I left my job as an Environmental Health Specialist with the Department of Health. I decided a while back that I did not want to be a health inspector for the rest of my life. Conducting restaurant inspections is not a job you want to have if you enjoy going out for dinner. While working as an inspector was a good experience, it just simply wasn't for me. The part of my job that I did enjoy was the teaching aspect so I decided I would pursue a career in teaching. I have a degree in biology and am applying to the non-traditional license program. I'm am currently waiting for my Praxis II scores to come in, which won't be for another two weeks. Substituting is definitely interesting and quite challenging. It's been a good experience for me however. We'll see how it helps me in the future. Only two more weeks before my future will be decided.